From pragmatic competence to intercultural competence: Pakistani ESL teachers perspectives of teaching interculturality in ESL classroom

In recent years, the areas of intercultural pragmatics and transcultural pragmatics under the phenomenon of “interculturality” have been investigated by linguists and language scholars because interculturality has a deep-rooted connection with the language and second language teaching and learning. This data-oriented study follows a quantitative research design. The data is collected through a survey questionnaire from 75 English teachers who are teaching at the university level in five different public and private sector universities in Pakistan. The overall results encourage embedding the knowledge of interculturality in ESL/EFL classes. There is a need to organize training sessions for teachers because many teachers reported that they do not utilize such skills in their ESL/EFL classrooms. In addition, the majority of teachers also believed in employing new approaches for teaching transcultural pragmatics to their students. This study further highlights that teacher/educators could also benefit from working together to develop the teaching of interculturality and transcultural competence, and to make this development happen in relation to teacher professional development

Design Changes in Construction Projects – Causes and Impact on the Cost

Isolation of design phase from construction has made the design changes inevitable in construction projects. Extensive literature appraisal has acknowledged the detrimental effect of design changes on project performances. However, the impact and causes of design changes have been divided up, either separately or project specific. As a result, the relationship between impact and causes of design changes could not be established for general construction. The primary objective of this paper is to examine the impact of design changes on project cost and identifying actions responsible for these changes. The objectives of the study were achieved through a systematic review of past literature published in well-established journals, and contents analyzed. From the extensive literature review, it was established that the design change is one of the predominant factors to cost overrun, and in some cases, may upshot into cost overrun between 5 and 40% of the project cost. Also, many causes of design changes resulting in cost overrun within the perspective of the owner, consultant, and contractors are explored. Some projects experienced closure as a result of owner induced design changes, although these changes may not be significant in number.  Design changes as a result of consultants and contractors in some cases might have reduced impact but are frequent. For each consideration, most events leading to design changes can be eliminated by improving on communication and coordination between stakeholders. The main contribution of this research is to bring together the impact and causes of design changes on cost under one platform for effectively managing the design process

Factors leading to delayed and challenging presentation of benign breast lumps in young females

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: A delayed presentation of benign breast diseases may lead to a therapeutic challenge when they enlarge enormously or become multiple. Aim of this study was to evaluate the factors leading to delayed presentation of benign breast lumps. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Madinah Teaching Hospital and Allied Hospital, Faisalabad from January 2019 to October 2021. One hundred and forty five female patients were selected by non-probability purposive sampling. Patients with large size (>5cm) or multiple benign breast lumps were included. An interview was conducted using structured questionnaire translated in Urdu. Factors leading to delayed presentation and social impact scale for stigma were evaluated. RESULTS: Patients had a mean age of 26.52 ± 6.90 years. The average delay of seeking medical care was 8.48 ± 8.41 months. Factors leading to delayed presentation were; lack of knowledge n=112 (77.2%) and parda (religious issues) n=112 (77.2%), followed by poverty n=109 (75.2%), and fear of cancer n=90 (62.1%). All the sub-scales of stigma, i.e., social rejection, financial insecurity, internalized shame and social isolation were high in late presenters, though, only financial insecurity was significantly high in late presenters (p=0.03). CONCLUSION: Lack of awareness, socioeconomic factors and disease related stigma were the main factors related to delayed presentation in young females with benign breast diseases. Addressing these factors may improve timely diagnosis and management of delayed and challenging cases

Miniaturized and flexible FSS-based EM shields for conformal applications

This article reports on very efficient and highly miniaturized wideband polygon-shaped frequency selective surface (PFSS) shields for the planar and conformal applications in the X-band. These shields have been analyzed for both lossy as well as for low-loss substrates. The conformal configurations of PFSS are particularly investigated for inward, outward, and double-curved profiles useful for a variety of applications. The conformal designs have been tested for two different radii of curvatures. The models have been simulated using a hybrid simulation approach for electrically large geometries. The equivalent circuit model as well as the analytical model are determined. The proposed PFSS designs offer stable angular response up to 60° for planar and all conformal geometries on both lossy and low-loss prototypes. Shielding effectiveness of at least 55 dB and 48 dB has been measured for flat/nonconformal and conformal configurations, respectively

Role of Absorptive Capacity Dominant Logic on the Performance of the Public Organization

In this study the performance of the public organizations is focused. The study is based on the intangible resources those have been used in the private sector organizations such as absorptive capacity and dominant logic. The performance of the organization is based on the information, knowledge, and prior experience. Through absorptive capacity and dominant logic, the organizations are able to enhance their performance. The study is conducted in the Hefei, Anhui, China which is one of the fastest growing city in the China. In the data collection process, the target group was the managerial level individual of the organizations. The data was collected through structured questionnaire adapted from the past literature. The questionnaire was translated into the Chinese language with the help of Chinese native and then translated into the English language to check the actual meaning of the questionnaire. Furthermore, to perform the data analysis process SPSS has been used. From the results its shows that absorptive capacity and dominant logic has significance impact on the organizations in the public sector and facilitates the organizations to get the superior performance. Moreover, the results also show that public organizations should adapt the techniques of the private organizations in order to improve their efficiency. Keywords: Absorptive capacity, dominant logic, performance, public organization

Host defence peptides in diabetes mellitus type 2 patients with periodontal disease. A systematic review

The aim of the study was to critically assess and review the latest evidence relating the associations between host defence peptides (HDPs), periodontal diseases (PD) and diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2). To explore studies on HDPs, periodontal disease, and DM2, researchers utilised specific key phrases to search the electronic databases PubMed (National Library of Medicine), Embase (Ovid), Medline (EBSCO), and Dentistry and Oral Sciences (EBSCO). Quality assessment was conducted by means of the Newcastle Ottawa scale and the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory Animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) tool. Following a thorough screening process, a total of 12 papers (4 case‐control, 6 cross‐sectional, 1 animal, and 1 in vitro) fulfilled the selection criteria and were included. The majority of research found that HDPs were upregulated in DM2 patients with PD. Three investigations, however, found that HDPs were downregulated in DM2 patients with PD. HDPs play a part in the pathophysiology of PD and DM2. Nonetheless, more human, animal and laboratory investigations are needed to fully understand validation of the link, as the evidence is limited. Understanding HDPs as common moderators is critical, aimed at unlocking their potential as therapeutic and diagnostic agents

Enzyme inhibition and antibacterial potential of 4-Hydroxycoumarin derivatives

The 4-Hydroxycoumarin derivatives are known to show a broad spectrum of pharmacological applications. In this paper we are reporting the synthesis of a new series of 4-Hydroxycoumarin derivatives synthesized through Knovenegal condensation; they were characterized by using UV-Vis, FT-IR, NMR spectroscopies. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhimurium strains. The compounds (2), (3) and (8) showed favorable antibacterial activity with zone of inhibitions 26.5± 0.84, 26.0 ± 0.56 and 26.0 ± 0.26 against Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) respectively. However, the compounds (5) and (9) were found more active with 19.5 ± 0.59 and 19.5 ± 0.32 zone of inhibitions against Salmonella typhimurium (Gram-negative). Whereas, in urease inhibition assay, none of the synthesized derivatives showed significant anti-urease activity; although, in carbonic anhydrase-II inhibition assay, the compound (2) and (6) showed enzyme inhibition activity with IC50 values 263±0.3 and 456±0.1, respectively

Preliminary investigation on properties of novel sustainable composite : fish scales reinforced cement concrete

This study focused on analysing the effect of fish scales reinforcement on fresh and hardened-state properties of concrete. For this purpose, 24 cubes and 24 cylinders were casted at a design mix ratio of 1:2.3:4.3. The water-cement ratio of 0.57 was maintained. The fish scales reinforcement levels of 0%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% by weight of cement were maintained for casting of specimens. For fresh-state assessment, the workability of concrete mixes was observed by slump test and the results showed that, with the addition of fish scales, the slump value decreased due to increase in water demand. With the addition of 2% Fish Scales, the workability of concrete mixes reduced by 36.40%. The compressive strength and tensile strength of concrete cubes and cylinders were tested with Universal Testing Machine (UTM) at curing period of 7 and 28 days. Out of 48 specimens casted, a total of 24 specimens were subjected to compressive strength test while other 24 specimens were tested for tensile strength. The results reported that with addition of 2% fish scales in concrete, the tensile strength of concrete increased but the compressive strength initially decreased and later increased. It can thus be concluded that the fish scales can be incorporated in concrete with steel to enhance the tensile strength of concrete. Keeping the initial decrease in compressive strength of concrete in consideration, it can be recommended that the fish scale reinforced concrete can be safely used in light weight structures and non-structural elements like floor slabs and ribs

The effect of variation in mass flow rate and solar irradiance on temperature uniformity and thermal performance of photovoltaic thermal: A simulated CFD study

Although, the effect of mass flow rate and solar irradiance variation is present in literature, it is still of significant interest to investigate the extent of the effect especially when utilizing a custom absorber design. In this paper, the effect of changing the mass flow rate and solar irradiance on the performance and temperature uniformity of a PVT using a custom spiral absorber design is simulated using ANSYS CFD software. By increasing the mass flow rate, the temperature uniformity and the performance parameters such as the average PV temperature, water outlet temperature, thermal and electrical efficiency all increase. By increasing the irradiance level, performance and temperature uniformity drop albeit at a smaller degree compared to change observed in mass flow rate variation. Amongst the tested range, the optimum mass flow rate and solar irradiance levels for best performance are 40 kg/h and 800 – 100

Over-investigation and overtreatment in pediatrics: a survey from the European Academy of Paediatrics and Japan Pediatric Society

IntroductionAvoiding over-investigation and overtreatment in health care is a challenge for clinicians across the world, prompting the international Choosing Wisely campaign. Lists of recommendations regarding medical overactivity are helpful tools to guide clinicians and quality improvement initiatives. We aimed to identify the most frequent and important clinical challenges related to pediatric medical overactivity in Europe and Japan. Based on the results, we aim to establish a (European) list of Choosing Wisely recommendations.MethodsIn an online survey, clinicians responsible for child health care in Europe and Japan were invited to rate 18 predefined examples of medical overactivity. This list was compiled by a specific strategic advisory group belonging to the European Academy of Paediatrics (EAP). Participants were asked to rate on a Likert scale (5 as the most frequent/important) according to how frequent these examples were in their working environment, and how important they were considered for change in practice.ResultsOf 2,716 physicians who completed the survey, 93% (n = 2,524) came from 17 countries, Japan (n = 549) being the largest contributor. Pediatricians or pediatric residents comprised 89%, and 51% had 10–30 years of clinical experience. Cough and cold medicines, and inhaled drugs in bronchiolitis were ranked as the most frequent (3.18 and 3.07 on the Likert scale, respectively), followed by intravenous antibiotics for a predefined duration (3.01), antibiotics in uncomplicated acute otitis media (2.96) and in well-appearing newborns. Regarding importance, the above-mentioned five topics in addition to two other examples of antibiotic overtreatment were among the top 10. Also, IgE tests for food allergies without relevant medical history and acid blockers for infant GER were ranked high.ConclusionOvertreatment with antibiotics together with cough/cold medicines and inhaled drugs in bronchiolitis were rated as the most frequent and important examples of overtreatment across countries in Europe and Japan